Making A Mark Art Blog Awards

About the Making A Mark Awards

Nominations are invited towards to end of the year. However you can nominate at any time by contacting me (see sidebar for contact details)

Shortlists for the best picture will be posted on 26th December each year

Voting on the best picture awards occurs between Christmas and New Year.

Award winners are announced at the end of December each year

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHO HAS WON
THE MAKING A MARK AWARDS SINCE 2006

In 2006, I decided to start an Annual Review at the end of December about Blogging and Art. I also decided this needed a fun part and so the Making A Mark awards were created. The idea was that I wanted to recognise those art/illustrated blogs which had been most influential. However, in 2006, in order to avoid spurious accuracy I limited this to those blogs which had most influenced me for one reason or another.In 2007 I sought and got nominations and votes for the best artwork on an art blog. In 2008, I extended it a little further and asked for nominations and votes for the best portrait by a female portrait artistIn 2009, I sought nominations across ALL the categories of awards. I also divided the best artwork award into three categories - and sought nominations and votes for all of these. You can read more about the process in Making A Mark: End of Year Review

In 2010 I extended the categories for best painting and decided I needed to have a think in 2011 about how often one person can win an award!

In 2011 I've decided that an art blogger may not win a painting award more than once in three years. I also retired one award and introduced two new awards.

In 2013 I retired The Painting a Day Stickability Shield and replaced it with The Showcase Shield.

Best Picture - Natural World

GENERATING ART

The Showcase Shield

This award was introduced in 2013. The Showcase Shield 2013 for

EITHER art blogs which consistently showcase good quality artwork of other artists - with words as well as images

AND/OR the work of one artist who maintains and displays a consistently high output of consistently good quality paintings over the course of the year (i.e. it doesn't have to be daily - but it does have to be lots!)

Winners:

2013Lines and Colorsby Charley Parker - if I'm limiting the Showcase Award to art blogs in 2013 then there can be only one winner in my eyes. Read this post to see the very many reasons why he wins the award

The Best Art Blog Project Virtual Challenge Cup

Art can be quite a lonely activity and it's noticeable that people often like to have some sort of involvement in groups and projects related to art! This award is For EITHER a major and reputable new project which adds value and involves a large number of bloggers OR or a project which has grown over the course of the year in question or otherwise had some significant impact during the course of the year

2013Women Painting WomenThis is an art blog project which started with an admirable set of values, achieved its goals and then changed up a gear and created a significant movement amongst painters. In all of this the art blog has proved a valuable tool for showcasing the work of various women artists and providing a place of reference and an accessible identity for their work.

2012 Sketching in Nature started in 2009, has developed a linked site on Flickr (with 748 members) where they often identify future blog correspondents, has grown its correspondent base as a result (by invitation only) and every week it generates between 5 and 10 posts, so not a huge commitment for an individual correspondent. It's also a correspondent recruitment model which tends to raise the calibre of the post. Plus the posts stay on topic and do not drift away from the reason for its existence i.e. sketching nature from observation and at first hand. Moderation also seems to be pretty effective in reviewing output and keeping the comments on topic as well! Bottom line this is a blog which has made a commitment to being both on topic and sustainable!

2011 The Help Japan Challenge Auction(Keiko Tanabe, David Marine and the Daily Paintworks Art Bloggers) The challenge was created by Keiko Tanabe and David Marine of Daily Paintworks hosted it on the Daily Paintworks website. To date, art to the value of $29, 218 has been raised as a result of the sales by the very many Daily Paintworks members /art bloggers who took part. This is a model of contribution which we've seen many times before - however I don't think I've ever seen one before which was up and running and selling quite so fast and to such good effect.

2010 The Virtual Paintoutby Bill Guffey has succeeded in attracting a large number of participants every month - and the benefit is that you can see all the pictures on the blog and that makes it very easy for non-participants to understand the project and see its results. I also like the way that it shows people that they can find places to go and paint plein air using Google Street View and consequently its impact is not just limited to this blog!

2009Urban Sketchers - has developed and become a landmark art blog during the last 12 months.

2008 Different Strokes from Different Folks - a well thought out project which also involves Karin Jurick in providing tutorials and guidance to participants how to improve their art. Primarily this has been about encouraging people to see that using photos as references need not involve copying - that making choices, using your imagination and interpreting a photo are skills which are also important.

2007 the International Sketchcrawldrawing marathons - a project which I have participated in which is global and involves lots of people, a lot of whom are bloggers.

2013:ThePencil Art SocietyIn 9 months, the Pencil Art Society has gone international, held their first online exhibition and built a membership of over 5,000 members in their Facebook Group. What I particularly like about the blog is it's making an effort to open people's eyes to the scope for pencil art and increasing awareness of the different approaches and styles. Leading members have also written blog posts with an educational slant which is a very welcome development and one which other art society blogs might usefully review.

2012: The Royal Institute of Oil Painters Blog - the ROI blog is loaded with images from exhibitions and art events. Plus it makes a point of highlighting individual members and their exhibitions, galleries and websites - in turn. It also highlights awards made to members by other art societies. The blog post about the Annual Exhibition was notified a month in advance on the blog. This also emphasised the opportunities for people to watch demonstrations for free.

2011: Denver Art Society The Denver Art Society site opened my eyes to what can be achieved in terms of dynamic content, design and the scope for a society to have a very strong connection with its local community.

The Painting a Day Stickability Shield - RETIRED 2013

This is for daily painters who maintain a consistently high output of consistently good quality paintings over the course of the year and set a good example to others. By 2012, the number regularly producing paintings every day has much reduced and hence the focus of this award shifted.

2012 Carol Marine (Carol Marine's Painting A Day). Carol sticks to her painting in everything she does. It's the springboard for all her other activities - and throughout she creates 20+ paintings a month and what's more she sells them all! For me she's a very relevant role model for younger painters of what can be achieved if you have the right mindset, the talent and skill to paint well and the determination and dedication to get on and "do".

2011 Stephen Magsig (Postcards from Detroit) Stephen's blog is accessible and demonstrates clearly that he has has produced between 322 and 355 paintings each year for the last four years. By any definition Stephen Magsig had produced a consistent and high quality output. He also provides something of a role model for the way in which you can convert the asset of regular daily paintings into other products for sale to those who want to collect artwork. Sometimes the "stickability" runs out before those conversions get made - but not with Stephen!

2010 Lisa Daria(Lisa Daria) I've had a lovely time looking through her blog at her wonderful paintings this afternoon and was very nearly distracted and started to buy a painting! Always a good sign of a very promising painter! Her blog has gone straight into my list of blogs that I follow. Significantly, Lisa Daria is the only nominee to have produced a painting every day this year. She has good reason - as stated below

After one year of painting every day (including Christmas) I've no intention of stopping. For me, daily painting is a daily appreciation for living via the canvas. I'm a young adult cancer survivor so I have a persistence to make sure every day matters. Daily painting has become a reminder every day can bring with it reason. My optimism and perception have become part of the process of creating each day without reservation or excuse. The finished painting represents a consistently positive and stabilizing presence of my view of my immediate surroundings.
Lisa Daria

No more words are necessary - this is a lady whose 'stickability' we can all admire.

2009Loriann Signori(Loriann Signori's painting-a-day)- This award is for stickability - Loriann's complete dedication to getting out and about whatever the weather and wherever she is. She created 344 posts in 2009.

2008 Edward Gordon (Edward B. Gordon)who started doing daily paintings back in November 2006. Edward has created a painting a day virtuallly every day in 2008 and did the same in 2007. He completed 700 daily paintings back in October. His blog is popular and it indicates that he sells most of the paintings he produces.

2007 Carol Marine(Carol Marine's Painting a Day) The person who, in my eyes, has been consistent, has posted most often during the year and who has also continued the tradition, started by Duane, of also sharing her talent and her approach with a wider public through the workshops she has been teaching this year.

They posted a new painting a day on their blogs for well over a year and, although they're not now posting a new painting absolutely every day, they're still managing a lot more than most 'painting a day' blogs

GETTING OUT OF THE STUDIO

The Painting Plein Air Plus Prize

This award is for excellence in plein air painting plus a strong commitment to sharing information

2013:M.E. (Mike) Bailey (ME Bailey Art) He regularly includes lots of very useful tips relating to plein air painting and painting generally - and very obviously thoroughly enjoys his plein air painting. This particular post A Plein Air Set Up For Watercolor (posted last month) almost deserves an award all to itself! However I found I was also enjoying reading the "back catalogue" as it were of posts earlier in the year and in the archives.

2012 Haidee-Jo Summers(Haidee-Jo Summers artist - ma vie en couleurs) The plus factor on Haidee's blog is personality plus sharing what and how she paints when working plein air. What I really like about Haidee's blog is that it's just like meeting her - sunny, chatty and confident. You learn without realising that she's handing out useful snippets and tips. It makes you think you can take up your brushes and go outside and paint just like her - with exuberant colour in her extremely competent alla prima mode.

2011 Enrique Flores (4ojos) is the art blogger who caught my attention when the popular uprisings, which have so characterised 2011, started in Spain. His watercolour reportage sketches from the protests captured what was happening in a crowded square in Madrid for days prior to the Spanish election. The paintings are not hugely well developed but just look at the quantity and the way in which he captures a live event - not knowing what was going to happen next at any time. It's a truly remarkable record - I've never seen anything like it before.

2010 Adebanji Alade (Adebanji Alade, South London) Adebanji Alade shared on his blog the whole experience of creating over 200 paintings of Bath in just 8 weeks. Adebanji has demonstrated that his work is also about sharing and helping others to get involved in plein air painting. He also managed to generate a major exhibition of his work as a result of his Bath Challenge and that's no mean feat.

2009 shared by:

Loriann Signori, (Loriann Signori's painting-a-day) This year Loriann produced 342 blog posts - almost all about plein air paintings! She also knows how to paint in pastel on top of frozen watercolour! Loriann posts her thoughts about hiow she constructs her paintings, the materials she uses, how she addresses problems in the field - it's the nitty gritty behind the great colourist paintings she produces.

Marc R. Hanson, (Painting My Way Through Life ) In April 2009 Marc had a Painting Marathon and painted 4 plein air paintings a day. They are not three strokes, one for sky, one for tree and one for land. These are beautiful paintings with composition, theory and all included. He also wrote about the paintings each day.

2008 shared by:

Michael Chesley Johnson (A Plein Air Painter's Blog) Michael has published a new book in 2008 about Backpacker Painting. He specialises in painting in both oils and pastels and a lot of his painting is done plein air. He shares useful information in workshops and in his blog as well as in the book.

2007 William Wray (Urban painter William Wray) Bill varies as to how much he talks about his subjects and his settings - but his comments, especially about the light he is painting in and its impact on the painting plus choices made in relation to composition are always worth reading

2006Ed Terpening (Life Plein Air) Ed has been blogging consistently since June 2005 and edged ahead due to his strong focus on sharing information on his blog as well as his commitment to plein air painting.

The Travels with a Sketchbook Trophycombined with the 'Get Off Your Blogging Bottom and Sketch' Brass Plate from 2007.

This award goes to the most intrepid and/or industrious artist travelling with a sketchbook.

2012 Adebanj Alade (Adebanji Alade: My art, my passion for sketching) Adebanji is something of a role model for all those who want to get better at drawing and painting people. He keeps his expenses on hiring models to a minimum. He draws the people he sees while travelling on public transport in London. In doing so he has built up his skill level at the same time as developing a portfolio of sketches to use as a basis for his paintings. His blog is full of sketches done on journeys across London. The bonus is that he then also shows on the blog how he works when translating sketches typically drawn monochromatically in pencil or charcoal into portraits painted in oil.

2010 Liz Steel(Liz + Borromini, Sydney Australia) In 2010, Liz took herself off on a 12 week extended vacation to sketch her way round the USA, UK and Europe! To top it off, she also sketches the most amazing complicated buildings in double quick time as well as sketching while eating and drinking tea.

2009Enrique Flores (Cuatro cosasMadrid) What I most like about Enrique's sketchbooks is the fluidity with which he extracts and simplifies the scenes in front of him - and the ease with which he draws with a brush in watercolour. Enrique also goes to many interesting places and posts videos of his sketchbooks on YouTube

2008Cindy Woods.(Learning Daily USA)This was a posthumous award. Cindy was always an intrepid traveller to all sorts of places with her friend Ronda and was still travelling with her sketchbook as she visited all the places and people she loved best in the months before she died in November 2008. Not everybody will be aware that Cindy did all her travelling in a wheelchair

2007 Martha (Trumpetvine Travelsof Berkeley California), for her well written, nicely linked and lavishly illustrated posts from all corners of the USA in 2007.

2006 Laura Frankstone (Laurelines of North Carolina USA)primarily for blogging her sketches of Paris in October while she was still there but also for the way she planned a whole year of themes for her artistic endeavours – much of which involved getting out and about with her sketchbook - or rather sketchbooks!

'Get Off Your Blogging Bottom and Sketch' Brass Plate now incorporated into the Travels with a Sketchbook Trophy (see above)

2006 Julie Oakley (One Mile from Home) This was for the artist or illustrator who has used their blog to make me feel most like I ought to do more exercise! The brass plate is, of course, in recognition of all that brass monkey weather she has endured.

The Going Greener Gong

This award is for the art blog which I've found most stimulating in relation to getting us in touch with nature and the environment. It encompasses those who blog about animals, birds, flowers and plants. Blogs are not required in any way to limit themselves to just those topics but they do need to have a feel for being green and sustainable about them. They also get extra points for getting out and about and drawing from life!

2013:Sarah Morrish The Natural YearSarah's strapline is Art & Observations of the Natural World by Sarah Morrish - Botanical & Natural History Artist & Tutor. She goes one better than having an interest in nature an ecology. She actually teaches people about it and to make art about it! Blogs are hugely useful to tutors if used properly. Sarah's use of her blog for educational purposes was one aspect I found impressive in 2013.

2012 Tania MarenArtPlantae Today is essential reading for all those interested in botanical art and drawing. Regular posts are frequent and always 'on topic' and full of high quality information about all the sorts of things that botanical artists are interested in. They include interviews with established botanical artists of some renown and news about workshops, exhibitions and new books. I've been reading it for years and have the highest regard for its content and author.

2011 Sherrie YorkBrush and Baren What is especially noteworthy is Sherrie has the ability to make you look more carefully at nature - at what you take for granted when out and about. I see what she can make of something and feel inspired to do the same. Her artwork speaks volumes about her love of her environment and the natural world

2010 Jeanette Jobson (Illustrated Life) continues to do sterling work alerting us to the potential to make art from fish - in more ways than one - while at the same time educating us about the changes to the fisheries around Newfoundland and the impact on the fish and the local economy

2009Sketching in Nature - a group blog started in April 2009 by Cathy Johnson. It has revived an interest in and highlighting the joys of nature journaling

2008 Shared by:

Irene Brady (Nature Drawing and Journaling Workshops) Irene has a very strong emphasis on drawing natural history and shows the work done in workshops in both the USA and overseas -. She provides lots of tops about how to draw nature up close and personal.

Debbie Kotter Caspari (Drawing the Motmot) whose blog is described as being about sketching adventures in the wide world of nature, with how-to sidebars and a bias for birds.

2007 Richard Bell's nature diary Wild West Yorkshire. Richard started his nature diary in 1989 and continues to set a standard which is hard to beat.

LEARNING ABOUT ART AND THE ART BUSINESS

The FAQs and Answers Really Useful Medal

This values blogs which also aim to share good information including what they have learned with others.

2013:Roos Schuring (Roos Schuring Art)I've not reviewed all of Roos Schuring's videos - I've only been able to dip in and out of three of them - and that's because we are talking lengthy videos. It certainly appears she's made a huge effort to address the type of questions which come up again and again for those trying to sell their art. To then invest her time as a professional artist in making the videos and the supporting documentation and then make all the videos available for free is definitely going above and beyond in the "helping out your fellow artists" stakes!

2012 Belinda del Pesco (Belinda del Pesco Fine Art) awarded to an artists who shares the processes she uses to create her artwork - in watercolours & printmaking plus highlights and recommends whatever has helped her - whether that's art supplies, art books or art videos. Plus she provides some ace quotes from other artists! Her emphasis is on her artwork rather than blogging - hence she only posts once or twice a week - however her posts are always high quality.

2011 (Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry) Artists Helping Artists on Blog Talk Radio. We all get to ask questions of and hear the answers from an awful lot of artists who are held in good regard online. Plus Leslie and Dreama have put together a series of podcasts and posts about other aspects with which they have personal experience and there is also a supporting Artists Helping Artists art blog.

2009 Roz Stendahl (Roz wound up)Roz is articulate and writes very well and at some length about the topics which interest her. Two of these topics are visual journaling and art materials. Her series on journaling superstitions is a masterpiece! She enjoys experimenting with art materials and paper and her very thorough testing of art materials sets a standard for artists writing reviews on the Internet.

2008 James Gurney (Gurney Journey)James very much deserved this award because of the vast number of posts he has provided during the course of this year (and last) which have been both extremely informative and highly educational. James is a one-man course in how to draw and paint! People pay fees for workshops from tutors who know much less than James does!

2007 Charley Parker(Lines and Colours)for his series of very comprehensive posts on how NOT to display your art on the web

The Make Me Think Gong

To be eligible for this award you must make me think and offer insights which are transferable to the activity and business of being an artist. This is the award which leans more towards matters pertaining to being an artist rather than artistic practice per se. So less "how to paint" and more "how to avoid being a starving artist"

2013:Alan Bamberger (ArtBusiness.com) provides very helpful and consistently good advice - even if the frequency of posting is infrequent. I think I've recommended every article in that list at one time or another and some more than once. He's very much labelled as an expert on my various websites about the art business.

2012 Cory Huff and contributors to The Abundant Artist. This is a site which focuses on trying to figure out how to build a successful art business. There's not a lot of posts but by and large they're good quality and they feature people who are success stories - who tell you how they did it. The advice also seems to be very much of the "now" as opposed to adapted from the past.

2011 Luann Udell (Luann Udell). Luann shares what she's learned with other artists and craftspeople online - here's a link to posts categorised about business and marketing. In addition to her own blog, she currently writes for the Fine Art Views Newsletter. She is particularly good at conveying important messages through telling stories. She is also not averse to sharing the less positive or more emotional aspects of an artist's life - and how she goes about addressing these.

2010 Joanne Mattera - Joanne MatteraHer series of posts - Marketing Mondays - is extremely wide-ranging in its coverage of very practical issues for artists. The content is also very helpful and I invariably find myself highlighting them on Who's made a mark this week?

2009 Edward Winkelman (edward_ winkleman)He's a very generous blogger who consistently provides some very useful advice for artists wanting to pursue a career as an artist and/or want to get into a gallery and/or keep being a gallery artist. He also attracts a diverse group of readers which makes his thought-provoking open discussion posts very interesting.

2008 Seth Godin(Seth's Blog) I rarely miss reading one of his posts and very often find that they trigger thoughts about ways in which his thoughts could be applicable to the practice of art and/or marketing within the art economy.

2007 shared by: two artists who refer to the wider aspects of how we live our lives, difficulties we have to deal with and approaches which seem to produce good results. They speak about both everyday matters and bigger concepts in an everyday way. They often make me step back and think about what I'm doing and how I relate to what they are talking about. In other words they take my perspective out for a spin!

Alyson Stanfield (ArtBiz Blog)Alyson is focused on the business end of being an artist and her e-mail letter arrives in my inbox every Monday and always gets read as does her blog.

Robert Genn (The Painters Keys)Robert Genn's has been twice weekly letter and subsequent clickback for the artist community since 1999. I've been subscribed to the Painters Keys and reading his letters for a very long time

The Best Book by an Art Blogger Blue Ribbon

This is for the most helpful book written/produced by an art blogger in

2013 I'd Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion by Alyson Stanfield this is yet another book which was written according to the author's idea of what was important. Design and content were not dictated by a publishing house. Alyson set up her own publishing company to produce this book. What is very evident from some of the previous winners and this book is that when the experts in their field are allowed to write what they want to write and what they think is important then their books for artists often become best sellers. However it does help if you already have a following!

2012 The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing On Location Around The World by Gabriel Campanario and contributions from the Urban Sketchers. This book probably couldn't have been created without blogging. It's also an excellent book. It provides a comprehensive guide as to how to sketch in an urban environment - on locations around the world. Plus it displays a wide variety of freehand sketches done from observation - of different subjects by different people. However one of its main claims to fame - in terms of spreading the gospel of sketching from observation - is its stonking sales record!

2011 Color and Lightby James Gurney (Gurney Journey). Put simply this book is a phenomenon. It has become an art book standard in the space of a year. It's going to go on selling for years to come. It's also chock full of really high quality content and for me this makes it a major contrast to so many art books which are published these days with "padding". Most importantly, a lot of the content was shared for free online in Gurney Journey as James was writing the book. (UPDATE: In January 2012, I identified it as one of the five best selling/top rated art books on Amazon in 2011 and 85% of readers responding to a poll identified it as their favourite book of 2011 - see 85% of you love "Color and Light")

2010 Landscape Painting in PastelbyDeborah Secor (Landscape Painting in Pastel) This has been published in full on her blog of the same name. The difference here is that the book is not going to be published in print. Deborah's book is very thorough and I'm guessing might possibly be a tad too long for most publishers these days. She's also thought of more subject matter she'd like to cover so there's more to come!

2012 Jana Bouc (JanasJournal.com) moved her entire studio into her garage! See My New Remodeled Art Studio Tour (at last!). The before and after photos are quite something - and she deserves an award for discovering a new floor suitable for studios! Jana also clearly demonstrates how it is possible to recycle a lot of domestic goods and equipment acquired cheaply into really useful studio equipment.

2011 Joint winners are

Carol Marine (Building My Studio) Carol lost her home in the Bastrop Fires in Texas in September 2011 and had minutes to decide what to take with her. (She has now moved to Oregon to start again - see A New Beginning). The fire also meant the loss of her brand new studio built by her husband.The studio blog recorded its birth back in 2009, its studio warming this summer and its death in September in just over two years. It must have been especially galling to have just got it properly finished only to lose it a short while later.

2010 Cathy JohnsonShed of Reality: a place called sanityThe brilliant thing about this project was that Cathy set up a blog to track the whole process of creating a new studio in a shed. It not only provides a record of the various trials, tribulations and achievements, it's also a marvellous source of information with lots of links for anybody else trying to tackle a similar project.

The Art Innovation of the Year Award

The Art Innovation of the Year Award is awarded to highlight those artist bloggers who experiment and/or create and/or share innovations which help the practice of other artists. The sharing may be through:

the invention of a new tool or art medium to aid artists

testing and reviewing a new art medium or material

experiments with existing or new art media, materials or equipment and the creation of a new way of doing things

2012 Nicole Caulfield (Nicole Caulfield Fine Art) reinvented a small camper as a mobile art studio and gallery. The idea was truly inspired - right down to the vintage/retro design! My blog post Nicole Caulfield and her Mobile Art Studio / Gallery gives the story of the mobile studio/gallery so I won't add any more here except to say Nicole did it all by herself. So take heart all those who want a space to call their own - and somewhere to keep dry at art fairs when it rains!

2011 Joint Winners are

the Icarus Art Drawing Board- conceived and produced by Ester Roi (Ester Roi). This has been an enormous success with coloured pencil artists since it greatly reduces some of the time usually required to layer coloured pencils to achieve saturated colours. It can also be used with crayons, oil pastels and encaustic painting.

the Paint On Tabletop Easel - conceived and produced by Karin Jurick(A Painting Today) and Brett (the easel guy). This was designed specifically for Karin's requirements and came to the market at the beginning of 2011 and has been steadily selling out on a regular basis ever since.

“The Moose” - the award for the best animal in an illustrated blog

Named after the first winner of this award.The animal (or bird) can be wild or domestic.

2012 Paula Pertile (Drawing a Fine Line) I've grown very fond of Paula Pertile's (Drawing a Fine Line) mad, bad and very splendid cats (see Thanksgiving) who I am sure would be very much appreciated by anybody who likes cats. The funny thing is that, according to Paula, she doesn't draw cats at all. Felines are certainly not listed on her "what I draw' statement. ("I'm an artist who draws children's picture books, architecture, still and "un-still" lifes, food, portraits and yarn.") However I keep seeing her cats on her blog - they pop up simply everywhere! I keep expecting them to get a Facebook page.

2011Debbie Kotter Caspari(Drawing the Motmot) She predominantly draws nature from life in all its different guises - in different parts of the world. I particularly enjoy her drawings of birds - and the fact she draws using pastels!

2010 Jeanette Jobson's (Illustrated Life) three-legged cat Tripod wins this award.Tripod seems to rule the roost and the turkeys at the Jobson home in Newfoundland despite only having three legs. Now of course he also has the added distraction of an artist in the family who's rather interested in fish! He's also featured in very many drawings and paintings over the years and has always come across as an animal with a strong male character. He's become a bit fussy with age (don't they all?) and only occasionally now consents to model - for a fee!

2008 Tracy Hall (Watercolour Artist). This Award is just one of the many which Tracy has won in 2008 with various Miniature Art Societies in the UK and USA. This Award is for "birds" in a generic sense and a rook in particular and recognises two of her principal achievements in 2008.

2007 Gayle Mason (Fur in the Paint) - “Out of Sight” Gayle has consistently produced excellent drawings of both dogs and cats during the course of the year – and shared her art materials and approaches as well on her blog

2006 Maggie Stiefvater (Greywaren Art ) - MooseNo contest - Moose won by a mile. Maggie Stiefvater characterises her cat Moose as a "criminally insane cat, furry muse, catcher of moths, grabber of ankles" but I think he's a total star. He's been breaking ACEO records and has also been featured in an article in Art Calendar about daily painting blogs. I fully expect he'll be having to complete his own tax return very soon. Moose gets the prize for being most often featured in uncommon but totally typical images of a cat.

The “Tales from the Frontline” Amusing Musings Trophy

I retired this award in 2011

Originally two awards but combined into one for the last two years. The Amusing Musings Trophy is for keeping me amused. The “Tales from the Frontline” Mention in Despatches - my favourite blog by somebody who lives with an artist.

2010

2009 Walt Taylor aka Wally Torta and the rest!(Crackskull Bob) - this blog has been making me chuckle for a few years now - mind you he can make me grimace too at times!

2008 Tracy Helgeson(Works by Tracy Helgeson) plus Doug and Ginger and all those who helped with the new studio. Tracy moved her studio, had a new floor laid, new walls and storage sorted, painted it all, bought and installed new studio furniture and then renovated her ex studio/new sitting room - and took photos and took us all through the process with her. Talk about comprehensive!

2006 Ruth Phillips (Meanwhile, here in France)won The “Tales from the Frontline” Mention in Despatches. Ruth Phillips is the wife of artist Julian Merrow Smith and the daughter of artist Tom Phillips RA so qualifies twice over. Ruth has been blogging for some time and it shows. Read her archives - she's better than a good book. Plus you get to hear about what happens when everybody wants to buy anything your artist partner produces!

2006 The Amusing Musings Trophy was shared by:

Hugh McLeod (Gaping Void) Hugh provides both humour and images for free alongside an expert insight into the business side of blogging and marketing product in a web2.0 world.

Maggie Stiefvater (Greywaren Art) Maggie mostly provides daily blog posts and almost without fail demonstrates that the fresh eye which she brings to portraiture also applies to her take on the world as well. She has a very unique voice – in both words and images. (Maggie has also gone on to become a New York Times best selling author!)

1 comment:

For Interior, I nominate "A Soft Light" posted onhttp://muddyredshoes.blogspot.com/ Thursday, October 13, 2011. Pure Watercolour 100 cm x 90 cmby Sarah Wimperis. This painting has stuck in my mind as a lovely place to curl up and imagine. I just spent a month cleaning up after Hurricane Irene in NE U.S. and the well ordered safe haven with luxurious seating, books and garden through the window was irresistible.Also, for watercolor, the size is impressive.Maud Guilfoylehttp://maudguilfoyle.blogspot.com/

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Please also respect the copyright of all artists featured here. Copyright is retained by the originator for all images and text generated by others and used on this with their permission or within the context of "fair use".

You may quote a very short excerpt from the text only (equivalent to a short feed) PLUS include an accredited link with appropriate and specific direction to the original content and blog post.

You can e-mail me (see 'About Me' above) if you want to(1) purchase, licence, exhibit or display any of my artwork.(2) get permission to copy any more than indicated above or(3) use ANY text or images for publication elsewhere in print or online for commercial use. This is always subject to license and fee unless by prior written agreement.

All spam blogs will be reported to Google and their website host ISP for copyright infringement.

Disclaimer Notice: All reviews on this blog are independent and unbiased. What does this mean?* I choose to buy the bulk of my art materials and art books from various shops and suppliers but have no financial relationship or formal affiliation with any suppliers of art materials, any publisher or any B&M art shop or art bookshop.* I am sent review copies of books by various publishers or authors and samples of art materials by various suppliers of art materials. I always declare if I was sent a product as a sample.* I am an Amazon affiliate and the Amazon search box and all links to books include an affiliate link via Squidoo or my own personal affiliate account. This means that if you buy a book as a result of clicking on one of these links I might earn a very small sum. (Income earned in this way helps me finance the purchase of new books).* Apart from books (see above for declaration) I always declare if I have any sort of affiliate interest in relation to a product or service under review

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